CommentsWord out of the Chicago war room is that Williams was one of the Bears' two targets at 1.9 & 1.10, and there was much celebrating when he was still on the board at 1.9. After some TC points, Williams will be a unique player and a no-brainer WR1. Williams will be able to study under the HoF bound AJ Green who is likely to finish out his final year of contract in Chicago. There was much speculation whether Williams or Courtland Sutton would come off the board next after freak Ja'Vonte Nix went 1.1. According to insiders, the Bears had zero interest in Sutton and would have passed on him had Williams been taken by the Lions at 1.3.

Projected Impact: Immediate Starter

1.19 - SS Jamal Adams 6'1" 211 lbs

Forcasted Physicals96SPD, 70STR, 92AGI, 94ACC

Current Skill Set73AWR, 67CTH, 75TAK

CommentsThe Bears original hope was to nab an elite DE along with WR Williams with their back-to-back picks at 1.9 and 1.10. With the DE's long gone, Chicago then traded 1.10 down to 1.19 and picked up a future 1st in the process. With the elite OL quickly leaving the board after 1.10, and DT McDowell going one pick earlier at 1.18, the Bears abandoned their typical BPA strategy and went with need, selecting the fist Safety in the draft in Jamal Adams. The LSU prospect has very solid physicals to go with his elite skill set. He has the ability to start Week 1 and could have an impact even in his rookie season.

Projected Impact: Immediate Starter

2.31 - QB Adam Schneckenburg 6'2" 221 lbs

Forcasted Physicals89THP

Current Skill Set72AWR, 85THA

CommentsIt's being reported that the Bears and Andrew Luck will be coming to terms on a new deal before the offseason is over. The new deal is likely to keep Luck under center for two, or possibly three, more seasons. With the 2.31, have the Bears found their leader for a post-Luck era? Despite having good field vision and solid accuracy, the Baylor product Schneckenburg saw himself slide on draft day due to his lackluster arm strength. But the Bears organization have a history with guys with weak arms, and even have an NFC title and Super Bowl appearance due to the play of Collin Klein, who was just traded to Baltimore this off-season. With Andrew Luck having plenty in the tank, the Bears can slowly progress Schneckenburg in hopes of him taking the reigns perhaps in 2024. A-Schneck may have just landed in a perfect situation.

The Chicago Bears would like to welcome their first round pick in the 2020 GZL draft Scooby Wright III to Chicago!!! The Bears moved up from 1.19 to 1.16 to select the LOLB. They made a trade with the Panthers. The details of the trade was that Chicago would send 1.19 and a future 3rd round pick for the Panthers 1.16 and also get a Panthers future 6th round pick. It was a serious position of need and we know that Scooby can come in right away and will start for us and should lock up that position for the future. With his speed and how quick his first step is, and not to mention his strength we felt it was in the best interest of our club to pull the trigger and select him. He is already working on improving some area's and we expect him to get faster and stronger before the season starts. While the Bears didn't have a lot of draft picks and they are very tight on cap space it was imperative that we got a great athlete and were grateful he was still on the board.

There will be more to come from the Bears as we will analyze all of the Bears picks but wanted to take the time and welcome the newest Bear to the city of Chicago!!!
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Last season the Bears were four quarters away from bringing the Lombardi back to Chicago. The NFC North champs seemed like a dark horse from early on. In a fierce division tucked inside a competitive conference, very few would have pegged the Bears as the eventual NFC champions. But here things stand a few months later, an NFC title banner in tow, and a chip on the shoulder after a loss in the big game. Let's take a look at what the Bears have been up to, and what to expect in 2018.

Additions and SubtractionsHeading into the off-season, the Bears front office had a primary focus and began dealing with it right out of the gate: the secondary. Chicago was ranked dead last in passing yards allowed last season. Dead last. Sure, you can try to make excuses and come up with logical reasons to not put the blame fully on the defense. "Well, the Bears were ranked sixth in points per game. Opposing offenses had to air it out to keep up..." Please. There's no good excuse for allowing almost 300 yards a game through the air. Let's put it into perspective... since the GZL merger only one other team has allowed that many passing yards per game. One. The Bears brass knew they had to plug up a hole, so they did. As soon as the off-season hit, Tampa Bay placed former 1.1 pick CB Morris Claiborne on the block after running into salary cap issues, and the Bears pounced. Claiborne is about as elite as they come, and will instantly change the face of the Bears' secondary. But Chicago didn't stop there. They also brought in CB Jimmy Smith in a trade out of Detroit. Smith is the complete package, a physical freak and fantastic in coverage. While Smith doesn't have time on his side, he still has plenty left in the tank. His addition alongside Claiborne might give the Bears the scariest CB combo in the entire GZL. If Rex Ryan can't improve their pass defense with these two in his arsenal, you can guarantee he'll be working elsewhere in 2019.

A noticeable trend in Chicago's moves this off-season is pivot away from developing youth, and a realigned focus on pure talent. In the past several years the Bears have acquired picks and have been almost exclusively building through the draft. Overall, the team is young and learning. Perhaps it was a taste of the Lombardi, or the back-to-back NFC North titles, but the Bears are clearly leaving a development phase and seem to be in a "win now" mentality. It wasn't just the acquisition of veteran studs like Claiborne and Smith. It was almost every acquisition. For the first time in years, the Bears traded away picks, or opened up their pocket books, in order to bring in veteran talent. And boy did the talent come...

The Bears also said goodbye to a few players this off-season, most noticeably WR Jessie Hendricks who was traded to Tampa Bay in the Claiborne deal. Hendricks quietly put up great numbers in his three years with the Bears, reaching over 1,000 receiving yards every season. With the glaring hole at CB, and freak WR Mike Evans ready to take WR1 control, the Bears felt confident that letting Hendricks go wouldn't hurt them. And with the arrival of WR Kenny Britt and WR Percy Harvin (and his mega contract) it seems safe to say that Collin Klein should be just fine.

The other two notable losses this off-season would be CB Vontae Riggins and OLB Calvin Hamilton. Riggins was clearly expendable after Claiborne and Smith arrived, and the Bears shipped him to Green Bay for essentially a 1st & 2nd. There were also reports that Riggins' musical career had taken too much of his focus off of football, and there were locker room rumblings that he was more concerned about Instagram tagging JayZ and Beyonce than learning the playbook. He saw very little field time aside from kick return duties. The loss of OLB Hamilton may be the one that stings most long term, however. With the resigning restrictions in place, the Bears knew that Hamilton would hit the market as Match Eligible, and decided to move him now for something rather than risk lose him later for nothing. He was traded to Carolina in exchange for their 2019 1st Round pick. OLB Jonathan Casillas will fill Hamilton's role fine this year, but at 31 he is clearly not a long term solution.

The Draft

For the first time in several years, the Bears had mostly a quiet draft. By the time the clock started they were armed with only a few picks to their name. Here are their selections...

1.28 CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu IEO fell in the draft for purely one reason: his height. At 5'10" he is hardly matchup proof. But he brings elite athleticism and smarts to the table, and could easily find himself at 99SPD/90AWR heading into his third season in the league. With the Claiborne/Smith combo entrenched as starters for the next couple of seasons, Ifo won't be rushed in and will have time to adapt to the GZL. The Bears had a greater need for young stud OL, but went BPA with their first pick in grabbing a special talent like IEO.

2.28 WR Alton SteeleSteele had a very productive collegiate career at Appalachian State, and broke the school record for receptions mid-way through his senior year. Originally slated as a late 1st Round prospect, he had his draft stock tank after a poor 40 time at the combine despite putting his strength on display. Though he lacks polished athleticism and elite stature, Steele has fantastic hands and should be able to contribute in moving the markers.

QB Travis Sullivan A solid backup quarterback was high on the Bears need list heading into the off-season. The Bears had no real hope in pulling out a Super Bowl win when QB Collin Klein went down with an injury in the first half. Enter Travis Sullivan. Sully (as his teammates call him) impressed scouts on his Pro Day with accurate passing and solid mechanics. He also had the highest Wonderlic score out of any other QB in the class. Sullivan was never considered franchise QB material though, due to his lack of arm strength. But in a system that can allow a guy like Collin Klein flourish, Sully may have found his perfect fit.

Looking ForwardIt's fairly easy to say that the Bears improved this off-season. They gained more firepower than what they lost, and will even enter next year armed with two 1st Round Picks. The question now remains will the new additions mesh on the team and will the coaching staff continue to fire on all cylinders, improving on the issues from last season. Only time will tell, and in a division as tough as the NFC North literally anything is possible.

Good luck and goodnight. And for those of you Chicagoans who missed it, here is our very own Jadeveon Clowney gracing the cover of last month's Sports Illustrated...